10.15am BST

Japan detains Greenpeace activists 'for stealing whale meat'

Police in Japan arrested two Greenpeace activists today on suspicion of stealing a consignment of whale meat they used as evidence for claims that Japanese whalers had pilfered prime cuts of meat for sale on the black market.

According to police, Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, both members of Greenpeace's Japan branch, stole a box containing 23kg of whale meat from a postal company warehouse in Aomori, northern Japan, in April.

Last month Sato displayed the meat, worth up to ¥350,000 (£1,645), to journalists in Tokyo as evidence of alleged widespread embezzlement connected with Japan's recent scientific hunt in the Southern ocean.

Although commercial whaling was banned in 1986, Japan is permitted to catch whales for "lethal research" into the mammals' migratory and other habits.

Japan had planned to catch 850 minke whales during its recent expedition but returned with only 551 after being frustrated by activists from Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd.

After a four-month secret investigation, Greenpeace then claimed that crew members routinely took boxes of whale meat home for private consumption or to sell to restaurants.

Prosecutors who launched an investigation into the allegations said today they had dropped the case.

The operator of the whaling fleet, Kyodo Senpaku, insisted that it was common practice for whalers aboard the factory ship to take home a small quantity of fresh whale meat as a bonus for spending several months in the icy waters of the Antarctic.

Greenpeace, which may be sued by the owner of the warehouse, said pair's actions did not constitute theft.

"The arrests were unjust," Yasuhi Tadano, a lawyer for the group, told reporters. "The two had to resort to such means in order to get evidence of embezzlement."

Campaigners accused the Japanese government of resorting to scare tactics. "We have uncovered a scandal involving powerful forces in the Japanese government that benefit from whaling, so it is not surprising that they are striking back," said Greenpeace's executive director in Japan, Jun Hoshikawa.

"What is surprising is that these activists, who are innocent of any crime, would be arrested for returning whale meat that was stolen from Japanese taxpayers by the crew of the whaling fleet."